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Writer/Teacher
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Oil Leak
I noticed a little bit of whispy smoke and the smell of burning oil today on my ride to work, and checked things out with the hood open. Sure enough, it looks like oil is leaking from the cam tower onto the #1 exhaust manifold:
 It's hard to tell from the pic, but the oil looks like it's coming down right from the cam tower. What is the likely culprit here? Just a cam tower gasket?
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Current Stable: Black 07 Porsche 987 Cayman S: Long-Tube Headers; FabSpeed Exhaust; VividRacing ECU Tune; IPD Plenum; 997GT3 Throttle Body. Blue 1983 Porsche 928S. 1985.5 Porsche 944 Rat Rod. 2011 Acura MDX. 2008 Mazda 3. Gone But Not Forgotten:Garnet Red 86 Porsche 951("The Purple Pig"). Alpine White 83 Porsche 944 ("Alpine Wolf"). Guards Red 84 Porsche 944. |
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08-19-2009, 12:55 PM
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That Guy
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Most likely cam tower gasket. Try and retorque it to see if it stops before replacing it.
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08-19-2009, 12:58 PM
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Writer/Teacher
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That's a really good call - after all, I did replace the stupid gasket when I did my head gasket job about a year ago. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Current Stable: Black 07 Porsche 987 Cayman S: Long-Tube Headers; FabSpeed Exhaust; VividRacing ECU Tune; IPD Plenum; 997GT3 Throttle Body. Blue 1983 Porsche 928S. 1985.5 Porsche 944 Rat Rod. 2011 Acura MDX. 2008 Mazda 3. Gone But Not Forgotten:Garnet Red 86 Porsche 951("The Purple Pig"). Alpine White 83 Porsche 944 ("Alpine Wolf"). Guards Red 84 Porsche 944. |
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08-19-2009, 01:05 PM
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Back from Beyond
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,697
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You're right on schedule for having the bolts back out. You may get lucky retorquing them (you'll buy yourself a couple months) but usually if it's leaking you're already too late. Last time I did mine I used a little blue Loctite on those infernal bolts to stop them backing out. Considering what you've been through, the car doing this is kinda insulting, isn't it!
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'88 944 Auto - project, kinda '87 944 Auto - died saving my wife '84 944 5SP - crushed under shop roof during snow storm All others GONE! |
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08-19-2009, 01:20 PM
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Writer/Teacher
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It's worse than I thought...
This is the result of leaving the car idling in the driveway for, oh, I don't know, 45 seconds or so:
 Sure enough, I checked the oil level, and it was dangerously low. I'm glad this happened on the way to/from work and not, say, to/from the beach. As far as I'm concerned, the car is pretty much un-driveable right now. Needless to say, retorquing the bolts didn't work. So, definitely the cam tower gasket, then?
__________________
Current Stable: Black 07 Porsche 987 Cayman S: Long-Tube Headers; FabSpeed Exhaust; VividRacing ECU Tune; IPD Plenum; 997GT3 Throttle Body. Blue 1983 Porsche 928S. 1985.5 Porsche 944 Rat Rod. 2011 Acura MDX. 2008 Mazda 3. Gone But Not Forgotten:Garnet Red 86 Porsche 951("The Purple Pig"). Alpine White 83 Porsche 944 ("Alpine Wolf"). Guards Red 84 Porsche 944. |
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08-19-2009, 01:57 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 224
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I'd say the cam tower for sure based on that...did you try a re-torque? Start in the middle and work out - should be around 14ft/lb on each bolt.
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08-19-2009, 02:05 PM
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Writer/Teacher
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Clark's garage says 15lb, so that's what I did. All the bolts were at the correct torque. I'm guessing I might have accidentally kinked/mangled the gasket when I put it on last year, and the recent heat triggered this. The b!tch of this is the timing - I start my orientation for teaching at a new school (ie, first day at a new job) on Friday... and my Volvo is not running. I'm in the process of looking at new (ie brand new) cars right now. I guess I better get moving!
__________________
Current Stable: Black 07 Porsche 987 Cayman S: Long-Tube Headers; FabSpeed Exhaust; VividRacing ECU Tune; IPD Plenum; 997GT3 Throttle Body. Blue 1983 Porsche 928S. 1985.5 Porsche 944 Rat Rod. 2011 Acura MDX. 2008 Mazda 3. Gone But Not Forgotten:Garnet Red 86 Porsche 951("The Purple Pig"). Alpine White 83 Porsche 944 ("Alpine Wolf"). Guards Red 84 Porsche 944. |
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08-19-2009, 02:08 PM
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Writer/Teacher
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Is it normal for the cam tower to leak THAT MUCH oil?!
__________________
Current Stable: Black 07 Porsche 987 Cayman S: Long-Tube Headers; FabSpeed Exhaust; VividRacing ECU Tune; IPD Plenum; 997GT3 Throttle Body. Blue 1983 Porsche 928S. 1985.5 Porsche 944 Rat Rod. 2011 Acura MDX. 2008 Mazda 3. Gone But Not Forgotten:Garnet Red 86 Porsche 951("The Purple Pig"). Alpine White 83 Porsche 944 ("Alpine Wolf"). Guards Red 84 Porsche 944. |
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08-19-2009, 03:38 PM
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Redline Racer
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,444
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The long side of the gasket closest to the exhaust manifold seals the oil feed channel for the cam bearings and the lifters, so, yeah, it could.
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1987 silver 924S made it to 225k mi! Sent to the big garage in the sky |
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08-20-2009, 09:01 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 1,635
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Make sure you clean both surfaces very well before installing the gasket. Check for any scratches, nicks, or burrs that could allow a leak from the matting surfaces. Be sure not to fold or crease the gasket. Get a new one, throw it in there and you should be fine.
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John '87 944 N/A (first Porsche) '95 E-350 Diesel '03 S-Type Jag 3.0 '03 Taurus SES '06 Eddie Bauer Explorer RIP SoCal |
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08-20-2009, 10:04 AM
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That Guy
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May want to check out the improved camtower gasket LR sells. The paper one can be very problematic for some. Personally I would just
bite your tounge and fix it. It's relativley minor.. But I can understand the frustration. |
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08-20-2009, 11:08 AM
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Writer/Teacher
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The biggest source of frustration is having to do the belts again. Grr.
__________________
Current Stable: Black 07 Porsche 987 Cayman S: Long-Tube Headers; FabSpeed Exhaust; VividRacing ECU Tune; IPD Plenum; 997GT3 Throttle Body. Blue 1983 Porsche 928S. 1985.5 Porsche 944 Rat Rod. 2011 Acura MDX. 2008 Mazda 3. Gone But Not Forgotten:Garnet Red 86 Porsche 951("The Purple Pig"). Alpine White 83 Porsche 944 ("Alpine Wolf"). Guards Red 84 Porsche 944. |
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08-20-2009, 08:20 PM
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2007 Porsche Cayman S
The Viridian Falcon
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